Writing and Editing and Publicity… Oh My

One of the absolutely hardest things about being a writer, is firstly, the writing. I watch some of the other writers I know, who publish six to eight books a year, and I take my hats off to them. I know it involves a great amount of dedication, and more importantly, a lot of self-discipline. None of which I seem to have in any tangible amounts 🙂

I started off this year with a bunch of good intentions, and plenty of enthusiasm. I was going to finish off six… yes, you read that correctly… SIX of my WIP’s.

It’s now May… and I’ve finished one.

What’s the problem? I hear you ask.

That would be Procrastination: and that capital ‘P’ is deliberate. I can find absolutely anything in the world to do, other than writing a book. There’s reading, of course, which is a wonderful alternative to actually doing anything constructive. And then there’s organizing my movie collection. And photo collection. And downloading new pictures from Pinterest for inspiration for new books…

You see the problem.

But the thing I find even worse, the most difficult part of walking this path of being a writer… it’s the publicity stuff. I am so incredibly impressed when my fellow authors announce they’re going to a convention, or doing a book signing. I think they’re all so incredibly brave!

Me. Not so much.

But this past week, I’ve been giving a great deal of thought to this writing gig, and my role in the writing world. I think I’m brave enough now to say I’m an author. With six published books, and another one in pre-publishing, I guess it’s a moniker that fits. Even if sometimes, I don’t have the confidence to believe it myself.

But what I need to do now, is commit to this writing gig, believe in myself a little more, and work harder on sharing my stories and progressing and improving. I don’t think I will ever, ever go down the convention/book signing path (Good grief! How terrible would I feel if I had a signing and NOBODY TURNED UP!) but I am taking the advice of a very good friend, who tells me I should have a newsletter.

The prospect immediately filled me with fear, because who would want to hear anything from me? What could I possibly have to say that was interesting? Although I still have a tonne of doubts, I’ve taken my friend’s advice, and I’m formulating a newsletter to share with my readers. And I’m telling myself, every day, that I am an author, and I do write things people like to read.

Now to push that procrastination to the side, and get on with those other five books scheduled for 2017…